Hidden Truths
by TheNexusDragon
Summary: SHEILD always has eyes on their Heroes even after the Battle for New York. Their agents have a great deal of leeway in how to carry out their assignments, and Fury has one of his best people on the job at the Stark Tower. But even the best agents have secrets. Warnings: Steve X OC, Mental torture in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The Avengers is property of Marvel. I do not own the characters. No money is made on this fiction.

* * *

High-heeled black boots clacked on the polished tile floors as the woman in a SHIELD uniform walked swiftly through the Stark Tower hallways. She was on a mission and there was nothing and no one who could stand in her way.

The glass door stood there attempting to taunt her with its impressive lock. It was nothing she could not handle. She made quick work of the lock interface making sure that her action did not draw the attention from the men within the lab. Under the key panel were a series of wires. Using the flat blade, she pulled up one of the wires, cross circuiting it with another lead and the door whooshed open. Getting was easy as that. Very few electronic devices existed that could stump her.

The two men in the lab were chatting easily, bantering back and forth. The words were meaningless to her but their sense of safety from the computer and electronic devices caused her lips to twitch in a smirk. They were lucky she did not intend them harm.

She cleared her throat, giving no sign of her delight when the pair jumped in surprise, simply saying, "Mr. Stark, Dr. Banner."

"Who the hell are you?"

"I am-"

"Better than that how the hell did you get in here?" Tony interrupted nearly shouting his questions.

"If you would, please, let me finish," the woman said ice frosting her words. "I am Agent Devon Donovan. I have been assigned by SHIELD-"

"What is it that SHIELD wants, Agent Donovan?" Bruce interrupted Devon this time. "We were told we weren't going to be monitored."

"The situation had changed," the SHIELD agent said bluntly. She had expected to be interrupted again and waited for the men to fire questions at her, instead there was only silence. "Nothing," she said raising a brow. "Okay, I know that I only have half the information that's a given when working with SHIELD. We have intercepted a plan to attack certain facilities, Stark Tower being one of them. The group behind this attack is called Enclave."

"Okay now we have some warning," Tony said rolling his eyes, "I doubt these guys are any worse than Loki and the Chitari. So, we can handle this if they show up. We really don't need a babysitter, so why are you really here."

Devon tried to hide the involuntary flinch at the mention of the aliens; instead, she crossed her arms and leaned back against the desk. "We'll try the honesty route, but it works both ways." Bruce nodded slowly and her eyes darted to the other man knowing that curiosity would lead him to agree as well. "The World Security Council believes you are dangerous. All of you. They meant to circumvent Fury with their orders to have each of you monitored. The Council thought that they could use me, but I'm not that damaged to ignore what they intended."

"So monitoring us," Bruce began his question cautiously, "what do they hope to accomplish with that."

"That's where the Council and Fury disagree. The Council wants to have each of you monitored so that they can either bring you in or take you out if anyone gets out of hand. Fury on the other hand is making it look like he's playing along by sending agents."

"To what extent does Fury agree with this Council?" Tony asked narrowing his eyes at her.

Devon sighed. She had to walk a fine line with the information she gave them. "Fury agrees that he needs eyes on all of you. What he doesn't agree with is that you are dangerous." She was staring at Tony not Bruce when she said the last word. "Personally I haven't decided which one is correct," she muttered under her breath.

Tony grunted at that. A sudden realization sparked on his face causing him to shout at the ceiling, "JARVIS, why didn't you give us a heads up about our intruder?"

"It's alright JARVIS," Devon said smirking at the genius.

"Sir," the computerized butler responded with a mimicked tone of cautiousness, "a program has infiltrated the system."

"Security lockdown the databases, JARVIS, and run a scrubber to remove this violation," Tony glared at her knowing that she was behind this attack on his computer system.

"The program has integrated its code into my program, sir."

"To try and remove this offending code without the proper key code you would lose your own remarkable program," Devon said the ice back in her voice as she taunted the engineer. "JARVIS really is an incredible feat of engineering. I got to see only a fraction of what it could do while you were hacking my system."

Tony's eyes narrowed at her fuming over her clear violation.

It was Bruce, who spoke up first, "What? What are you talking about?"

"The Helicarrier," Devon said simply.

Her simple answer created more questions for the two men. Devon enjoyed the looks on their faces. Tony was still glaring at her but the raised eyebrow made for an almost comical look. Bruce on the other hand seemed to be cautiously shocked. Neither of them had enough data to connect all the pieces.

"I was watching your cracking software work," Devon bit her bottom lip and returned Tony's glare. "Let's just say I took that a little personal. I was the senior program designer on the Helicarrier. You didn't know this, but I was the one co-engineering the designs with you, Stark."

She let her words sink in, plastering a smug smile on her face. All three of them had trust issues. She knew that her little play with JARVIS was necessary but it did not help with the trust. She would have avoided tampering with the advanced program except she needed a way to monitor both of them. Her program would inform her when either of them left the tower, however they did not need to know how simplistic her program really was.

"That's part of why the Council contacted me. What they didn't count on was the fact that as much as Fury and I don't see eye to eye, I still went to him with my dilemma."

She was telling the truth. Even after years of working with SHIELD and Fury, she still did not trust either. The past few months had not helped with her ability to trust the illusive organization.

"His suggestion was to go along with the Council's plan but we'll work the reports over before sending them on. The others are being monitored by Fury's people also."

"Right," Tony said drawing out the i in the word, "how the hell does Fury think he's going to spy on two master spies."

"Very carefully," she said shrugging. "From a distance and not nearly as open as I am with both of you. But then again I got to choose who I followed."

"Why would you choose to spy on either of us?" Bruce asked skeptically, with a touch of paranoia seeping into his voice.

"I'm no spy. I am an engineer and applied physicist. I knew I would fit in around here. You can call HR if you want but I officially start work for Stark Industries tomorrow. I only broke in tonight so that I could give you both a heads up."

"Well I'm sorry to tell you, Donny," Tony said crossing his arms angrily, "but your services won't be needed in my company."

"Oh Mr. Stark, but it's not your company anymore."

"I'll warn you that it's hardly wise to threaten Pepper," Tony snarled.

"I'm not threatening," Devon said raising her hands trying to pacify the irritable man. "I was hired by Ms. Potts. I was using my real credentials not some SHIELD ploy. The only thing I had to push for was higher clearance."

The genius glared at her, and she returned his stare adding her own frosty touch. In all her years with SHEILD, Devon had learned how to work with stubborn men. Men who looked at her and thought she could never do what they did. Others told her that she should find work in another field. Her family was the only ones that had supported her.

"That's not going to happen," Tony said finally. "I can't trust you with my classified information. You do realize that SHIELD is a military spy organization."

"Yes," Devon said cocking her head. She could hear the unasked question in his voice, but she had no reason to tip her hand yet. She needed to know exactly where she stood with this unique group of individuals. They were good but she was better. "Besides if they were all that bad then why did you all work with them too?"

"So then why SHIELD?" Bruce asked.

"I wanted to work with the best," Devon said. "Shouldn't be surprising seeing that my work got me here. Your secrets are safe as long as I report back that I am monitoring the situation here."

Before Devon could explain, the door to the lab slid open. Captain Steve Rogers came marching in, a stern look on his face. Devon's back stiffened as the soldier neared them. She could feel the icy armor that had become her defense slide back into place, the momentary cracking gone.

She had reviewed all of their filed before accepting this mission. She had to be aware of all the challenges that she might face. Folding her arms across her chest, she watched the man approach curious what had brought him to the Tower.

"Did you two know about this," the Captain said in a firm controlled voice. He looked between the two men but had yet to acknowledge Devon's presence.

"Know about what, Cap?" Tony said with a smirk playing a game with the other man.

Steve looked behind him, confusion evident on his face as he looked for something or someone.

"Son of a gun, where the hell did he go," Steve cursed under his breath. "SHIELD has agents watching us. For days, I have been trying to shake him and now finally he is gone. I would have come here sooner if I knew that would get rid of that pest."

"Steve," Bruce said giving the captain an understanding smile, "this is Agent Donovan."

The soldier eyed her carefully studying her appearance, his eyes narrowing slightly at her uniform. Devon returned his gaze unblinking at the scrutiny.

"I would assume Agent Taylor is waiting outside the tower," Devon said no warmer than she had spoken to the others. "While in the tower I am the agent in charge."

"Ms. Donovan," Steve said holding out a hand to her. Reluctantly she took his but regretted it when he gave her a quizzical look. "Donovan," he repeated as though the name was familiar to him. "Did you have family in New York?"

Devon pulled her hand back sharply, but instead of crossing her arms again they hung limply at her sides. The muscles in her jaw clenched tightly as her gaze dropped to the floor.

"Yes," she finally responded the word hissing out through gritted teeth.

"Jonathan Donovan and Elizabeth Donovan-Hawke," Steve said solemnly remembering the names.

"My father and sister. How did you-" her voice trailing off with the question.

"I'm sorry for your loss." The soldier attempted to reach a hand out to her but Devon quickly took a step back out of reach.

Devon did not need his sympathy. Her father and sister had been in New York during the attack. While making repairs she listened to the reports as they came in. The devastation had seemed bad but it was so distant at the time, so removed when it was happening. She focused on the problem that was before her. Of course, she had been worried about her sister; Elizabeth had been five months pregnant. Devon dreaded the news that she would have to give her sister when this was over. She worried about her father, too. However, on the Helicarrier there was nothing she could do except keep on working.

Steve's brow furrowed in thought before he spoke again, "There was another Hawke on the Helicarrier."

Devon nodded slowly, her mind only half in the moment as the pain of the last few weeks crashed down upon her. "Damien, my brother-in-law."

There were explosions. Bulkheads buckling and ripping themselves apart, while sparks flew from electronics as her creation was slowly being destroyed. The first blast was bad enough but secondary systems began to overload with each subsequent explosion cascading through the systems. She had designed the carrier to handle attacks but this attack came from both the internal and external. There were "superheroes" rampaging around on her ship; tearing it apart. She gave orders focusing on the problems she could fix. The overload was not something she expected. It came from a completely different system one that had not even been hit in the attack. She rushed over to the interface trying to stabilize the engine 3, power control system. There was too much going on; she had not seen the warning on the other panel. Damien pushed her away from the system just in time but he was too close when the system exploded. His last action was to save her life.

Devon's silence had not gone unnoticed by Bruce and Tony. For those moments, she was back in the moment and had not seen the shared looks between the men. The pair stared at the other two as the gears seemed to shift and her icy attitude suddenly made sense.

"Well," Bruce said, he pinched the bridge of his nose frowning, "no wonder you seem to hate us."

Devon's head snapped back at that comment. Her eyes glazed as they focused beyond the table in front of her. Her mind reeled for a moment. She knew she had been cold but she needed distance. Distance that she was not being afforded while on assignment in Stark Tower. She was grieving. She never intended for them to think she hated them. Quite the opposite she relished the opportunity to work with the best and brightest just as she had told them. That was the very reason why she had first started working with SHIELD.

Shaking Devon let out the breath she had not realized she was holding. Forcing her lungs to take in gasps as her head began to swim. She had not been herself since the attack.

"Earth to Donny," Tony called out to her, waving a hand in front of her. "Nice going Banner, I think you broke her."

"Ms. Donovan, are you alright?" Steve asked softly, pushing Tony's hand out of her face.

Devon only half heard their words but she nearly jumped when Bruce laid his hand on her shoulder. Blinking a couple of times, she came back to the here and now. She still could not bring herself to look at any of them.

"No," she said in a small raspy voice. She heard herself and cleared her throat before attempting to speak again. "No, I don't hate you… any of you."

"Please, Ms. Donovan," Steve said guiding her to a chair, "you should take a seat."

"Call me Devon," she said shaking slightly while sitting down. She was cold; it felt as though she had been dunked in ice water. She had never intended to breakdown like this. Life had taught her to be strong and she was most of the time. There was something going on here that broke down her defenses. "Sorry," she whispered barely audible as she tried to reign in her emotions.

"Sorry," she repeated a little louder. The thick fog that her emotions had created began to dissipate, not completely but enough that she could think again. "My losses, as you said, were the other reason the Council came to me. They probably thought that I would blame you all, just as you had." Devon rolled her shoulders, she was coming back to herself but she needed a way out. She needed to get some space so that she could gather her wits again. "I'm used to having to impress people. Somewhere in my twisted mind, I thought breaking into your lab would be impressive. I really do want to work with you, if we can look passed the fact that I will also be monitoring any of the Avengers while they are in the tower."

Devon did not wait for a response before she turned on her heel and marched to the door. It would not matter whether they liked it or not but she was there to stay.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: The Avengers is property of Marvel. I do not own the characters. No money is made on this fiction.

Thank you for the favs and follows.

* * *

Days went by and life in the Tower began to resemble some normalcy. Devon had jumped right in to work and had set up her equipment in one of the high security labs, which she was sharing with Bruce.

Her eyes flickered to the display that was monitoring Tony in the other lab. She trusted her software to keep track of the genius. What she did not trust was that man would not try to circumvent her program. He had tried a couple of times already, but she had countered his measures within seconds. She knew that it was not over just because he looked to be working on his armor. The man was far too self-centered to let it go. To let her win, at least not without a good fight.

Devon was currently working on the electrical plans for the new Helicarrier that was being built for SHIELD. The base would be similar in structure but there were necessary upgrades to the design, security measures and special equipment to aide when the Avengers would come aboard.

Currently she was working on the wiring. She needed to restructure it to prevent the system overloads that they saw during the attack. She worked with the three dimensional holo wireframe of the pipes and electronic conduits. She took the current section rotating it around so that she could see the backside of the control panel.

Concentrating she focused on the mental trace of conduits; paths crossed and spread out across into unseen portion of the ship. Even without the complete diagram, she knew where each wire, and each pipe, went to and what they controlled.

Braking her focus at a sound her eyes snapped to Tony, who was still working in her lab. Looking around she saw that Bruce was hunched over the microscope working on his genetics studies. The sound she was surprised to find had been Steve entering the lab.

The soldier did not say anything as he sat down at the open lab table, with a notebook. She nodded to him but returned to her work after checking on Tony once more.

Hours went by in silence while the three of them did their own thing. Devon was able to rework the wiring. The new configuration allowed for a fifty percent increase in power efficiency while adding an additional level of safety in case of an overload situation.

There was a shuffle of papers, at the Steve's table, that drew her attention. The big man looked up at her, giving her a kind smile. Needing a break Devon got up and went over to where he sat. Coming up to his side, she saw that sketches covered the loose pages.

The one that covered his current page made her jaw drop. It was her face looking back at her. His art was incredible; he had captured the intensity of her look as she worked.

"Wow," Devon whispered, closing her mouth. "Captain Rogers, you're quite the artist."

"Ms. Donovan," Steve said simply, looking up at her. There was a faint blush creeping up the man's cheeks.

"I know you are being polite but I'm not old enough to be called Ms.," she said giving him a flat look. "Please call me Devon."

"Only if you call me Steve," the soldier countered.

"I think I can do that, Steve," Devon said flashing him a smile for just a brief instant.

An alarm on her computer system interrupted their moment. Rushing over to the system, she ignored the two men who watched over her shoulder. Tony was nowhere to be found, as she flipped through video feed.

"Jarvis, where is Tony?" she called out asking the computer as she moved toward the door.

The computer system hesitated before her software kicked in forcing the butler to respond, "Master Stark, is heading to the roof." The contempt in the mechanical voice was obvious. The simulated emotion would have fascinated her if she were not concerned with Tony's attempted escape.

"Very good," she said heading toward the stairs. "Thank you, Jarvis."

Devon ran up the stairs. Her feet pounding in swift rhythm as her momentum carried her up the vast flights of stairs. She slowed down enough to calm herself as she neared the door that led out to roof.

"Mr. Stark," she called out once she saw him, "where do you think you're going?"

To his benefit, Tony did not turn or even respond to her question. He just continued to walk calmly to the Quinjet sitting on the rooftop-landing pad.

Her Quinjet. There was no way he was taking her ship and she would do anything to stop him.

"You won't make it off this roof," Devon warned. "If you attempt to take _my_ ship, it will be the last thing you do."

That threat at least awarded her with a dirty look from Tony over his shoulder.

"Your ship?" he raised his eyebrow at her. "If I'm not mistaken, Stark Industries is the one who builds these."

Devon returned the smug grin that the man had shot her, "Just who do you think designed the plans for these jets. My jets."

That caused the man to spin around to face her. His eyes narrowed as though he was trying to determine if she was bluffing. Devon knew this game well. She was a champ at poker and had learned when she was little never to give any tell.

Of course if the stress of the situation had been different Tony would have been able to think about her mission and know that she was only supposed to monitor not terminate. However, the man's ego was dominant since she had threatened it by claiming the Quinjet designs.

"So we really are under house arrest?"

The question came from behind her, as the pair of men in the lab had caught up to her on the roof. Unfortunately, they had heard her threat also.

"Freedom is an illusion, now isn't it," Devon said keeping her eyes on Stark. She ignored the men behind her as her mind raced. She could keep playing the game and possibly alienate the others or drop the act and lose any chance with Tony. "I think that is one thing we both can agree on."

"What if an Agent went with him?" Steve asked.

Devon let her eyes flutter shut for just a second, as she said a silent thanks to the soldier. Whether or not he knew it, his simple question had broken the stalemate that was forming in her mind. Going along with this new train of thought was her way out.

"I guess that could be a possibility," she strained to keep the smirk off her face and out of her voice. "If you give me time it certainly can be arranged."

Tony narrowed his eyes at her, distrust obvious on his features.

Devon tried to remain passive but slowly she returned the glare. She was frustrated. She was getting comfortable living in the tower. That comfort ability was a liability. Tony should never have been allowed to get to the roof. She had been distracted from her work both on the Helicarrier and her monitoring of the Avengers team members. Sure two of them had been in the room but the third was a problem and would continue to be a problem for her.

Taking a step to the side, Devon's look softened slightly. "Please, Tony," she offered quietly, "let's go inside and we can make the necessary arrangements."

Surprisingly Tony accepted her action as submission to his dominance. Internally she congratulated herself on her victory. All she would need is for the genius to lower his guard so that she could increase her security. She would be vigilant in her monitoring of the situation.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: The Avengers is property of Marvel. I do not own the characters. No money is made on this fiction.

Thank you to all those who are reading this story. Thank you for the favs and follows.

* * *

A few days had passed since the incident with Tony attempting to leave. The tower once again grew quiet.

Bruce had a feeling that it was just the calm before the storm. Tony seemed to have let the issue of leaving the tower drop, but that caused the scientist to worry about what the other man might be planning. Devon also had been silent about the matter. Bruce was sure she had increased security on them but compared to an actual cage he found this imprisonment to be acceptable.

Bruce was in search of Tony for some advice on the project he had been working on. After checking Stark's private lab and finding nothing, he asked the AI butler where Tony was. It turned out the man was in his office which was hardly if ever used.

When Bruce entered Tony's office, he was surprised to find the room dimly lit. Tony was standing in front of a large display showing security feed. As he neared, he recognized the room as one of the genius' high security labs. The display showed the haphazard look to the lab. It looked as though someone had ransacked the lab. If he had not known better he would have thought that the Hulk had been in the room, except that the room missed vital damage to the actual structure. He knew he had been in control since the Battle and while he knew the other guy was there, he had been quiet.

"Did someone break into the lab?" Bruce asked quietly, but his appearance had still caused Tony to wheel around in surprise.

"Well, yeah," Tony said with a shrug turning back to the video, "but she broke in weeks ago."

Bruce stared back at the other man in confusion. There was no way he could be talking about Devon. The brilliant woman could not have caused the destruction that he saw in the lab.

"I don't follow," Bruce prompted when Tony did not explain.

Tony rolled his eyes before responding, "I was curious what she was working on. Her little spybot program informed her of it."

"So she got upset that you were spying on her."

"No I couldn't even figure out what she was working on," huffed Tony. "After almost half hour of watching, she suddenly trashed her project and then my lab."

Bruce could tell there was underlying anger in the other man's voice. While he did not like that Devon was there spying on them, at least she was open and mostly honest with them. It could have been far worse if SHIELD or the Council had sent a different person to watch them.

He took a closer look at the image on the screen. There were stools upturned. Datapads strewn about, most with cracked displays. Tools were scattered across the floor. In and amongst the debris were drops and pools of deep red blood.

"Devon's injured," Bruce exclaimed. "Where is she?" Tony waved his hand near the darkened corner of the screen. It looked like there was a pile against the wall. Bruce wondered if Devon was under the pile and he said quietly, "She needs our help." He turned back to the door so that he could go down to the lab.

"Wait," Tony said as the door to the lab opened.

* * *

When the door slid open, Devon shifted ever so slightly, looking up through the hair that obstructed most of her face. She did not want to see anyone and more than that, she dreaded anyone seeing her at the moment. She knew that Tony had been checking up on her earlier but when she lost control that had been the farthest thing from her mind.

From her vantage point, she could just make out the person who had entered the lab. The tall blonde was the last person she wanted to see her like this. She had kept her distance from him to keep focused on the work at hand, but that did not change the spark of feelings she had. Unfortunately as he neared, she was not able to hold back the groan that leaked out her lips.

"Is someone here? Are you hurt?" Steve asked.

"Go away," she mumbled.

"Devon?"

The engineer lifted her head, looking up through watery eyes. "Please," she begged, hoping he would do as she asked, "leave me alone."

Instead, Steve took a couple of steps forward. When she realized he was not going to listen to her, she let out another soft groan before letting her shoulders curl in and lowered her head to her chest. Steve sat down along the same wall as her within arm's reach but still giving her space.

"What happened here?" Steve asked quietly.

Devon could not bring herself to respond. Her mind raced through those moments that had led to the disaster that she faced at this moment. The problem was that her memory was a haze of red during that time. There was just pain; emotional and physical pain blocking out all her actions.

She wanted to be alone, needed to be alone. More than that she needed to grieve and maybe that was what this outburst truly was. This had been the second time that she had lost control and let slip part of her secret. The difference was that this time the others had actually seen her strength, whereas her speed on the stairs was easily cast off as adrenaline.

Bringing her back to the moment, Steve reached a hand out to her bloodied arm. She jerked away afraid of what he would find when he touched her. His fingers just brushed against the skin where it had been broken earlier. The blood smeared away under his fingers but revealing only silky skin.

"You're not hurt," he said quizzically.

"I heal quickly," she mumbled.

"How?"

Devon turned her head away from him. It was her secret. One she had kept her entire life. She did not want to share it now or ever. For her secret to come out would end the life she had made.

"I'm interested in the answer to that too," Tony said as he marched into the devastated lab.

Devon's head snapped up to the pair standing in the doorway. Tony and Bruce were looking at her questioningly. She had not heard them approach her attention had been focused solely on Steve.

"It's a long story," she mumbled scrubbing her hands over her face allowing her to ignore the looks that the others were giving her. Despair clutched at her, as she realized that what she feared the most was going to come to pass. There was no way she could escape this fate now.

Footsteps approached and in her peripheral vision, she saw Dr. Banner gently push past Tony. For a second he stood in front of her. She could only assume that he was trying to determine if she needed medical attention. He did not say anything just watched her before squatting down and setting a steaming mug between her feet. The aroma told her that it was a cup of her favorite herbal tea a sweet blend of chamomile and peppermint. The tea would help to silence the drums that were currently pounding in her head. The doctor then got up and backed away leaning against the far wall between an upturned desk and a pile of equipment that had been on said desk.

"We have time-" Tony began.

Steve interrupted the genius' snarky comment when he squeezed her shoulder quietly saying, "You can trust us."

"Trust isn't really the issue," Devon began as she reached for the cup of tea. The mug was warm, which she relished absorbing the heat. Gazing into the honey colored liquid she frowned, sighing. "There are some secrets that should never see the light of day. I'm one of those."

Without looking up Devon knew that, her comment confused the others more. Very few knew about her secret and yet she was about ready to tell these three men. She could effectively be ending her life, as she knew it, with the next words she said. Oddly enough, when she thought about it that way, it made it easier to find the words. She had lost everything, so maybe coming back to New York and upturning her life would lead to a new life starting by letting these three know her secret.

"My mother was a scientist. She worked for," Devon frowned this was the part of her past that even she only knew a fragment of. "Well they weren't called SHIELD back then, but it was a scientific branch of the military which eventually was the beginning of SHIELD." Keeping her focus on the drink in her hands, she ignored the tensing that came from all three of the men. Little did they know, that was one of the easier things they were going to hear.

"I don't know what they were studying at the time but there was an accident in the lab. My mother had been nearly to her third trimester while carrying me. She was exposed to dangerous levels of radiation." Devon's eyes flicked up to Banner's face, the action did not go unnoticed by any of them. That one instant told them exactly what kind of radiation her mother had been dealing with.

The silence in the room was palpable. She struggled with the rest of the story, the part that actually involved her and more importantly her abnormalities.

"My mother showed no signs of radiation poisoning but as a fetus, I did. I was dying but my mother knew that some of the other things that the scientists were working on could help. One of the projects was with the super soldier serum," she said. She turned her head away to avoid their looks. They could easily misinterpret the story to think she was a monster. That was part of why she had worked so hard to keep her secret.

The men however did not speak, so in the silence she took a shaky breath.

"In secret my mother and one of her closest friends acquired the serum. They modified it to work for me and injected me with it. The serum filled in the gaps in my genetics that the radiation had caused. The other side effects hadn't been known until I was born."

"So what are these side effects?" Bruce asked when she did not continue.

Devon tried not to jerk at the question. She had expected it but at the same time, it frightened her. In so many ways, she was still just the little girl finding out she was different for the first time. She remembered her mother sitting her down and warning her that she should never tell anyone not even her father or sister.

"I would have thought it obvious from the mess. You must have seen it on the video," she said looking up to Tony. He shrugged nodding slightly. "I am strong, stronger than most, depending on who you're comparing. I heal quickly. But I have some other issues too."

"Apparently," Tony rolled his eyes looking around the room.

"The worst of it is that the gamma radiation heightens the amygdala to stimuli," she gave an understanding smile to Dr. Banner when he nodded. "It also wreaks havoc on the pituitary and hypothalamus glands. Nothing too serious, but enough to make it an issue some times."

"So," Tony frowned at her, "if you plan on working here it'd be nice to know what your trigger is."

Devon returned his frown. The genius had to know that she was staying there as long as SHIELD required it. Unless they intended to report her to the spy organization, she would continue to do her job. Part of her was certain that they would use her secret to get her out of the tower. However, what confused her was his comment about a trigger. She really did not know what he meant by that.

"You look confused," he said smirking. "Unless you don't know what your trigger is?" Coming over to her Tony squatted down, watching her closely. "We know the big guy," he said nodding his head over his shoulder in the doctor's direction, "is triggered by anger. So what's yours?"

Shuttering slightly, Devon finally understood what Stark was asking. Her eyes darted between Banner and her hands. Tony did not understand that while the doctor and her appearances were different they shared many of the same side effects of the radiation. Their "triggers" being one of them.

"Strong emotion," she said simply. "The amygdala helps to regulate strong emotions like anger, fear, lust…" Her list faded out at the last to a mumbled response. "But it's not really a trigger," she frowned as she explained. "I'm always strong, fast, and healthy. It's not something that turns on and off. I just lose control of those things some times."

"What were you working on that set you off then?" Tony asked her quickly, not giving any time for her to explain.

Devon bit her lip and looked down at the floor. Again she did not want to respond. Any response she would give would be yet another sign of weakness. At this point she was not sure that she could handle being seen as more weak than she already had been.

"What was it? Must have been something big to have caused this much of a mess."

"A memorial," she finally whispered. "I wanted to design a memorial. You all saved so many lives but there were still many lost. I wanted a way to put my grief into something productive." She hung her head just wanting this to end. "But nothing seemed adequate enough."

Before Tony could shoot another question at her or worse a snarky comment, Bruce asked, "Who else knows about you?"

Devon swallowed hard, "Besides you three, there is only one other who knows. I'd like to keep it that way, if it's all the same to you."

The three men stared at her. This secret, her secret was a big favor to ask from them. It was a big risk.

"Of course," Tony said patting her on the shoulder before he got up and left the lab.

Bruce nodded to her giving her a gentle smile before following the genius out of the lab.

That left Devon and Steve in the silence of the lab. She did not even risk looking over at the soldier. He must hate her for keeping this secret from him. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as he slowly rose to his feet. She expected him to leave as the others had. Instead, his large shoes stopped in front of her. Steve's hand reached out and took one of hers. Ever so gently, he lifted her to her feet. She kept her head down still not meeting his eyes, until he hooked a finger under her chin lifting her head up.

He smiled at her, "Your secrets safe." He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.

Shocked Devon's heart thundered in her chest as at the brief touch. Pink tinted up her cheeks before she returned his smile, holding the big hand for a moment longer. When she let go she took a step to the side around the soldier going over to one of the up turned desks. Grabbing the edge, she easily righted the furniture. When done she looked over her shoulder, to see the reaction that her action had caused.

The man smiled at her again, then went over to some of the other furniture and fixed them too. That simple acceptance proved wrong all the assumptions that Devon had made. Maybe this was not the end of her life but the beginning.

The pair continued to work in silence but for the first time she knew she had a place where she belonged.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: The Avengers is property of Marvel. I do not own the characters. No money is made on this fiction.

Thank you to all those who are reading this story. Thank you for the favs and follows.

* * *

Devon paced around the lab. She could feel the doctor's eyes following her. In her current state, she could hardly concentrate and for that reason, she knew she was distracting her lab companion. She sighed again, for what might have been the hundredth time that afternoon.

Giving up on his work, Bruce took off his glasses, folding them up and setting them on the desk. "What's bothering you?" he asked quietly.

"Sorry," Devon sighed again. As she passed by the doctor's workstation, he caught her by the arm. She did not meet his eyes but she stopped pacing, instead putting her hands flat on the desk. After staring at her hands trying to calm down, she finally spoke again, "I don't know what to do."

"I'm going to need a little more than that to be able to help," the doctor said tipping his head to look at her face.

Devon shook her head in frustration. It was times like this when she remembered why she usually kept herself closed off from others.

"I've been trying to find a solution to the problem of a hyper stimulated amygdala."

"So you're looking for a solution to our anger issues."

"Not quite," she said softly. She thought maybe it would be useful to block their anger issues but that was just a secondary reason. Her primary goal was for a much more selfish reason. "The amygdala takes care of more than just anger. We are more susceptible to fear but when stimulated it can affect other primal urges."

She looked up finally to see Bruce's eyes go wide with understanding.

"Bruce, I need help. I knew about this problem so I have kept my distance, but…" her voice trailed with the uncomfortable topic.

"Steve?" the scientist asked reading her issues written across her face.

Swallowing hard, Devon nodded slightly. "I don't want to hurt him."

"I think Steve can handle anything you throw at him."

"I'm not talking physically," she said rolling her eye, "emotionally." There was a whiney tone to her voice that annoyed her. Devon began pacing again. She was torn between what the different parts of her brain were telling her. "He's from the 40s where there was romance and courtship. Part of me wants that needs that. However there is the other part that has issues and may not be able to handle a slow relationship."

Bruce nodded making his way around the desk, blocking her path. "Well why don't you just give it a try if you're honest with him everything may turn out alright."

"I've never been in a relationship because I was worried about my condition. I barely know how to talk about all of this."

"Okay," Bruce said putting a hand on her shoulder. "We'll work on this. I'm sure we can come up with something."

* * *

"Stark."

At his name, Tony looked up from the repulsor that he was working on. Jarvis had alerted him that the Captain was coming this way. He was not sure why but it must be a big deal if the super soldier was actually coming to see him.

Tony did know from watching the video feeds that Devon and Steve continued to skirt around the issues. Those issues being their feelings for each other. Both of them were uncomfortable and awkward around the other. There was obviously something there and Tony had no problem poking the beehive.

"What can I do for ya Capt'," Tony said with a smirk.

The tall blonde stared at him frowning before he turned and began walking out of the lab. For a moment the soldier paused, glancing over his shoulder before continuing to the door

"Capt'… Steve wait," Tony called out. He had hoped to make a joke of Steve's intrusion into his personal lab but the whole demeanor of the other man stopped him short. "I'm serious. You look like you need help, so how can I help you."

The words hung heavily between them. A hand out stretched between them in an offering. Turning back blue eyes squinted at him as if he was trying to decide if he could trust Tony.

Tony knew that they had their share of disagreements and even more arguments but even through it all, Tony had Steve's back. Not for the first time, Tony wanted to help someone else be happy. He smile thinking about Pepper. However, this was the first time he could put aside the part of him that was jealous of his father's obsession with the super soldier. He actually wanted Steve to be happy.

Frowning the bigger man said, "I need your help with and issue."

"Yeah, I got that," Tony said before he could stop the snarky comment. "Sorry," he said raising his hands to placate the other man, "why don't you tell me what the problem is."

"So much has changed," Steve started slowly looking down at the ground, embarrassed by admitting his confusion. "I was wondering if you could help me understand how to court someone in this time."

Surprised by the request, Tony laughed aloud. He had not intended to crack up at that but of all the requests he had not expected this. He instantly knew who the object of Steve's affection was. When he laughed Steve turned to leave again.

"Hey, wait. I didn't mean…" Tony growled under his breath. How was it that this was becoming such a convoluted mess, he thought. "You just surprised me."

Tony walked around his workbench coming closer to the super soldier. The other man stiffened as he neared. It had cost him much to ask for his help.

"Steve, I'm not sure how much help I can be. My own record with women is not great. But I'll help catch you up to speed."

Tony gestured to the couch and waited to see if Steve would still want his help. The soldier stiffly walked past him as he sat down, all attention on the genius. He grabbed a stool and sat as he began to explain what he knew about women in the century. Mentally he noted that he should write a book with all the knowledge he had.

* * *

Devon sat at the piano. Her fingers lightly floated over the keys the familiar notes forming the pleasant melody. It had been years since she had played. Softly she began to hum to the music. She was never one to sing but Elizabeth would sing while she played the piano but that seemed like a different life all together. This was one of the songs that her sister had written.

Since coming to the tower, Devon's life had taken a drastic and unexpected turn. The refrain of the song came automatically, pulling her back to the past. She lost herself in the memories of her family. She had worked so hard to make sure her sister had everything. She had stepped up to be a mother to her little sister. She blamed herself for their mother's death.

Closing her eyes, Devon let the rhythm of the notes cascade around her. She wanted to cry but her eyes were dry.

The song slowed as she neared the end. Instead of stopping though, she started another song. This song had been on her mind as of late. Humming along until she got to the chorus. It had been one of her mother's favorites. Her mother and sister would sing while she played. It was one of the first songs she had ever learned to play.

Humming along until she got to the chorus, she sang softly, "You don't know what you got 'til it's gone. They paved paradise and put up a parking lot."

"That's a nice song," Steve said walking closer, "but I like the first one better."

Devon tried to pretend that she that his sudden appearance had not startled her, but she really was. She had been so far in her own mind she had lost track of her surroundings, not wise given what her official job was. Since the incident in the lab, she had backed off the guys and they had not pushed to leave either. They had come to a happy truce for the moment. This was the first time she was alone with Steve since he had helped her in the lab.

She continued the current notes for a few notes then eased back into her sister's original song. She did not tell him the importance just yet. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Steve as he walked up to the piano. Again, she was surprised when the man sat down on the bench next to her.

Steve was silent for long moments and Devon could only imagine what was going through his head. She saw his eyes close as he listened to the music. A peaceful calm washed over his features. Devon had to look away as her heart squeezed tight.

Devon let the song drift off and once the last of the notes filtered out of the air, she stood. She took a couple of steps away from the piano to the large floor to ceiling windows overlooking the city. She took a shaky breath as she tried to calm down. She was far too close to the issue at hand and needed to get some distance. She needed to stay in control. If she lost control, this could go so bad. She could lose everything. Again.

There were familiar footsteps that followed her, as Devon knew he would. Her thoughts drifted to the man beside her. Would he understand if she explained the problem to him? Or would it drive a wedge between them?

"I can't even begin to imagine how hard this must all be for you," Devon said frowning at the thought. "To not only lose everyone you knew but also your way of life."

Steve shrugged but that was the only response. Devon had not really expected much, but she had wanted to give voice to her thoughts.

"There's a poem by Robert Frost that comes to mind when I think about you," she said trying to fill the silence. The poem had been one she had mesmerized when she was young. It had always ringed true to her on some fundamental level. "Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice. From what I've tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate to say that for destruction ice is also great and would suffice."

Looking over at the man, Devon could feel the painful emotions roll off him. Steve tried so hard to be strong emotionally, just as the serum had made his body, but there were consequences to suppressing emotions too long. She knew that better than anyone.

"I'm sorry," she said quickly, "I don't know what came over me. You have so much on your mind and my comments don't help."

"No, it's true," Steve said quietly. "It's getting easier to deal with the changes now. It wasn't at first though."

The tall man put a hand on Devon's shoulder turning her to face him. She looked up into his face and knew that he was talking about her. As much trouble as she was she made his life in this strange new era a little easier.

"I'd like to go dancing with you some time," Steve said suddenly. His smile grew almost comically wide.

Devon frowned and looked away with a shrug. "I'm not that much for dancing," she said in a small voice.

"Why?" the soldier asked raising his eyebrow, all while, he tried to get her attention.

"I guess I haven't found the right person," she said uncomfortable with the topic.

Steve only smiled at her. He looked like she had missed some inside joke, but she did not press the issue letting the thought slide away. He took a step closer to her raising a hand to her cheek. Then before she could pull away, he was kissing her.

The kiss was soft but the electricity coursing through Devon's body forced her back. Panic over ran every other emotion for the moment. She rushed from the room nearly running into Bruce and Tony as she left.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: The Avengers is property of Marvel. I do not own the characters. No money is made on this fiction.

Thank you to all those who are reading this story. Thank you for the favs and follows.

* * *

Tony and Bruce looked at each other wide eyed as they looked from the doorway that Devon had just left through and Steve who stood stunned on the other side of the room.

"I'll take her," Tony said nodding to the door. "You get him. I better catch up before she destroys another lab."

As he left, he heard Bruce ask, "So Steve do you want to tell me what just happened?"

Tony followed Devon's route by JARVIS's tracking ability as he was lead to his private lab. He had locked the lab when he left it earlier, but just like the first day they had met her, she had broken into his lab. He tapped his code into the panel on the door.

Nothing happened.

Tony tried his alternate code.

Still nothing.

Frowning Tony popped the cover off the lock. Devon had hard wired the lock. It would not be difficult to fix but it would take him a few minutes. Tony watched through the glass door as she marched back and forth through the lab. Of course, he was concerned about his equipment but at the same time, the look on Devon's face bothered him. She looked crazed, but in a sad way not like when she destroyed the lab.

The lock clicked its release and it slid open, allowing Tony entrance to his lab.

Devon stood before his armor, her hand raised as she was speaking softly. As Tony neared her, he could make out her words.

"…So Eden sank to grief. So dawn goes down to day." Devon's hand stroked the Mark VII as she said the last line, "Nothing gold can stay."

Tony took in a hiss as she touched his suite of armor. His sudden noise made her spin around rapidly. For a moment, he did not know what to say or do as the woman stood before him with wide eyes blinking rapidly.

"So what's up?" Tony asked not knowing what else to say to the sad look on the woman's face.

Devon looked away, staring into the distance at nothing in particular. "I just needed some time," she mumbled.

"Time for what?"

"What?" she replied in confusion, as her eyes gained focus again.

"Never mind," Tony said giving up on what had been on her mind just then. "Why are you in my lab?"

"I don't know…" her voice faded off as she looked around as if just noticing where she was. "I panicked. I guess I came here on autopilot."

"Since when's my lab your safe place," he said raising an eyebrow at her. While he was being a jerk in his attitude, but a part of him was beginning to care about this woman, who barged her way into his life.

"I don't know," Devon repeated giving a little shrug. "I just… I couldn't…"

"So what is it about the big oaf that has you all bothered?" Tony asked with a smirk.

Devon turned slowly to face him and Tony realized that the words he had said were exactly the wrong thing to say. The woman stalked over to him slowly, anger glowing in her eyes. Like a switch had been thrown, suddenly she seemed to move in a flash and Tony found himself pinned against the lab wall. He hit the wall with such force the plaster crumbled around him. Her size belied her strength as she lifted him off the floor.

"Don't talk about him that way," Devon growled out. "He is a brilliant man, a military and mathematical genius in his day."

"How do you know that?"

The soft question came from the doorway, which caused Tony to take his eyes off the angry woman. In the door way was Steve and Bruce. When the familiar voice had spoken, Devon had tensed but she lowered him to the floor, before turning to face the newcomers.

"When my mother gave me the file on me," Devon said quietly, starting slowly, "I read everything there was in the file. At seven, I didn't really understand it, but over the years, I began to. My file, which is in a safe place, had a great deal of information about you, Steve."

The soldier looked confused. He obviously did not know how much information SHEILD and the military had on him. Tony had not studied much of his father's information on the super soldier out of jealousy.

"There is only one thing I have ever taken out of the file," Devon continued speaking, while she pulled a paper out of her jacket pocket. She stepped closer to the soldier and handed the paper to him, before looking away. "I've been in love with you since before I ever met you. Before I even knew you were still alive."

Curiosity got the better of Tony as he eased over to the Captain. He raised his eyebrows when he saw that the paper was actually an old photograph of Steve from before he was Captain America.

"Why?" Steve asked in a whisper.

"Besides the fact that you were smart and strong and one of the few people who knew what it was like to…" Devon's voice faded out as she looked at her hands and flexed them as if she was trying to find the right words for what she was. "But it was more than all that, you had a normal life before. I was born like this, but you… Well actually all three of you had normal lives before."

Tony looked at the other men and realized that she was right. For all of their issues they had before changing their lives they had at least gotten to know what it was like not to be a super hero. Whether by accident or on purpose they have gotten to choose how they dealt with the change. Devon on the other hand had this information thrust on her and told that it must be a secret for the rest of her life.

The silence drug on until Devon said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

"No," Tony said stepping in interrupting her apology, "you're exactly right. Not that we had normal lives but we know what you meant."

Devon nodded before her attention went solely to Steve. "I have some issues that I have to work out but if you can be patient with me I'd certainly like to give this a try."


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: The Avengers is property of Marvel. I do not own the characters. No money is made on this fiction.

Thank you to all those who are reading this story. Thank you for the favs and follows. Reviews are always appreciated.

* * *

It had only been a couple of days later when Devon had lost control for only a second. In that brief moment, she landed a wide swing on Bruce. In turn, that punch brought on the scientist's change. Luckily, for them Tony was quick to act on what was happening. He ushered the crazed pair into the elevator and pushed the button for one of the basement levels that she had not yet gone to explore, before Tony leaped out of the elevator.

The elevator had dropped swiftly as the pair huffed and glared angrily at each other. Bruce was turning greener with each floor that sounded as the car continued down uninterrupted. Devon charged at the man, throwing her shoulder into the blow. As the doors opened, they stumbled out of the elevator and into a large open room.

Given more space and less control, Bruce's transformation to the Hulk completed.

Devon's attention was fully on the Hulk as the animal in her mind screamed in delight. Even when she lost herself to the rage, she never entirely let the beast free. This time was different. This time she knew it was safe to lose control. She was the only one who could get hurt if the beast never calmed enough to be in its cage.

That was the last she was able to think about the matter as a giant green fist came smashing down at her. Devon caught Hulk's wrist in both hands as she stopped the blow with her own powerful strength. She darted out of the way, as his other fist came at her. He had the size but she had speed.

Somersaulting across the floor, she bounded to her feet. Devon grinned up at the big green man and to her surprise, Hulk grinned back at her. They both new that it was just that fun. As crazy as they might be, they were going to have some fun blowing off steam.

Each strike was like crashing thunder, the concrete crumbled when either of them hit it. There was still destruction from their sparing match but not nearly as bad as it could have been.

As the pair began to exhaust themselves, their blows became farther apart until they each rested against opposite walls from each other. Panting each slowly calmed down with each labored breath.

Devon felt her eyes drift close as she blinked slowly. She was pleasantly tired and happy to have gotten this chance to be free. For most of her life, she had denied this part of herself but now she was able to be one with the animal. It felt so good to be relaxed the beast within her was quiet and for once, she did not fear it.

She must have dosed off for a few moments because she was startled awake when Bruce spoke. "So, remind me never to tap you on the shoulder," Bruce said with a chuckle.

Devon laughed whole heartedly. "I think we'll be good so long as I don't try to deck you."

The pair slowly gathered themselves up. Bruce clung onto his shredded pants as they made their way to the elevator. The doors opened as they neared and with a sigh, Devon walked in. She shook her head looking back at the concrete room; leave it to Tony to create a room that could withstand both of their destructive forces.

When the elevator opened to her floor, she stepped out and shot a smile over her shoulder at the tired scientist. He returned it in kind with a nod of his head. He understood what had happened with her as it had taken him years to learn to accept his other side.

A few hours of sleep and a nice hot shower made all the difference. Devon was relaxing in her apartment when there was a knock on the door. She was in sweats but she was unconcerned about her appearance.

"Come in," she said without getting off the couch. Placing a bookmark, she set the novel down on the table.

"I hear there was an incident while I was out," Steve said with a frown but the concern in his voice softened the expression. He stayed in the doorway to the living room leaning casually on the doorframe.

"Yes," Devon said not meeting his eyes as she stared out the window. She did not want to admit how much good it had done to lose control. She could not tell him that because he was the reason she had to keep such control. They both knew that but bringing it up would just hurt his feelings. Knowing he was disappointed with her was easier than hurting him.

Devon jumped when Steve gently laid his hand on her shoulder. She had been deep in her thoughts that she had not heard him come closer. He turned her so that he could see her face.

"Next time if you want someone to spar with you just have to ask," Steve said giving her a dazzling smile.

She looked up but it was her turn to frown at his comment. The idea of sparing with the soldier was exciting but letting the animal out around him was the last thing she wanted. The beast was crazy enough without adding hormones to the mix.

"I'm sorry. I crossed that line that you work so hard to keep," he said as a wave of sadness passed over his eyes.

Devon would do anything to see his eyes sparkle again. Going up on the balls of her feet, she kissed him on the cheek. The touch was just the faintest of brush of her lips on his skin. She tried to smile but knew that it did not reach her eyes. The pain she felt was still there.

"It's alright," he said softly before pulling her into his arms. He kissed the top of her head and whispered, "We'll find a way to make this work."

That night though she had not needed to keep a tight control on her bestial inner self as she curled into Steve's arms while they relaxed.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: The Avengers is property of Marvel. I do not own the characters. No money is made on this fiction.

Thank you to all those who are reading this story. Thank you for the favs and follows. Reviews are always appreciated.

* * *

Devon peered into the microscope for the third time. The few minutes had led to no change. Their current experiment was going nowhere which was frustrating. Every other day they would work on her problem. She had both Tony and Bruce's support in the issue. The other days they worked on Stark Industries projects that in most cases were actually Avengers work.

She shared the plans for both the Helicarrier and Quinjet with both of them. She also shared with Tony some of the knowledge that her mother had on his father's projects. Those days were the better days. The team was more productive and it felt less like they were running into a brick wall. Repeatedly.

She was staring through the microscope at that brick wall.

"Arrahh!" Devon shouted in frustration. Quickly she backed away from the equipment for the safety of the lab. Instead, she paced in the open area giving her time to cool down.

Tony and Bruce barely looked up from their work. They were adapting easily to her responses to the stress. To her benefit, Devon was learning to control her reactions more with each day. All of her reactions.

In the evenings, Devon was spending time with Steve. They were taking it slow and for now, they were happy.

Devon smiled remembering the previous evening. They had watched some old movies like 'Casablanca' and 'The Maltese Falcon'. She had surprised Steve with the fact that she liked the old films. Seeing his face light up when she said the titles was more than she could have ever asked for. She was grateful to her mother for teaching her so much of the past. Devon could not begin to imagine what her mother would think about her relationship with Steve.

With each step back and forth, Devon calmed down a little more. Thinking about Steve had a way of doing that to her. Of course, that is when he is not getting her heart racing by just being close.

There was a loud crash from the hallway drawing all of their attention. Before they could do anything, a group of three men heavily armed came barging into the lab. JARVIS had not warned them of the intruders. Devon's system had only just signaled the warning light when they entered. She could not help but feel some admiration for these criminals.

"Stand and back away from the computers," shouted one of the men with a thick European accent.

The men who had entered the lab matched SHIELDs description of the group that called themselves Enclave. Their records thought that there was possibly a fourth man as well, however they had no records on who that man could be. Devon could not help but wonder where that fourth man could be.

Devon already in the middle of the room stayed where she was as the men backed away from their terminals. She raised her hands in a show of meek compliance. She wanted their attention on her, that way she could be in control of the situation. Control was relative though, the men before her felt like they were in control all while keeping the men behind her calm so that their reactions would not fuel any possible explosion.

In her peripheral vision, she could see Bruce and Tony behind her but not enough to know their situation. Tony could be cocky sometimes but without his suit, he would be just as vulnerable as anyone. Luckily, for once Tony was silent.

On her other side, she could hear the sharp breathing from Bruce. Devon risked looking over her shoulder. The scientist was huffing and shaking slightly.

"Easy Doctor," Devon said quietly with a small smile, "there's no need to get angry… yet."

Bruce closed his eyes when she spoke. His breathing was only just a little calmer. She had to hope he could stay in control of his other self, at least long enough for her to diffuse the situation. She did not need much time she only needed to get to the computer.

Two of the men went to her terminal, but from her current vantage point, she could not see what they attempting to do. She knew that her programs had safety protocols and the loss of control could lead men to act irrationally.

Slowly Devon took a step forward, which one of the attackers matched by having a large weapon of unknown type waved at her. The others carried assault rifles and pistols, so Devon kept her focus on the larger unknown gun.

"Stay where you are," the big man growled at her.

"I was just wondering if I could help," Devon frowned at her wording. "That's my terminal and I just think it might go better if I could…" She pointed at the computer taking a step forward.

The pair at the computer spoke quickly in Russian, and one of them nodded sharply. The one with the big weapon tipped his head before he stepped aside allowing Devon to walk up to the computer.

Devon stood in front of the terminal. She looked back and forth between the men on either side. She was waiting for one of them to tell her what they were doing. When they were not forth coming she asked, "What is it you are after?"

"All of it," the Russian man said gruffly. "All of the plans, the designs, the electronic devices. All of it."

"Okay," Devon said nodding, "it'll take some time, but I'll get it started."

Devon started typing rapidly. Programming windows popped up as she entered the system in a base code system. Swiftly she deactivated her safety protocols allowing Jarvis to signal the others with an alarm. She also put in place an encryption program so that any of the data that did go through the transfer would be unusable on the other side.

Within moments, the alarm sounded with a shrill ring as Devon stepped back from the computer. The attackers quickly became agitated, brandishing their weapons. Chaos was what she had been hoping for; she just needed to keep her charges safe until the others could get there.

"So, don't know what you did," Tony said rolling his eyes, "but you seem to have gone crazy for a moment."

The comment gave the attackers something to focus on as unspoken they targeted Tony with their anger at being stopped. The trigger clicked as the man pulled it and in the instant before the strange weapon fired, Devon moved herself between the gun and Tony who no matter what he said was just a man when he was not in his suit. Unlike most guns, this weapon did not shoot bullets. The energy pulse struck Devon in the gut. The pain was like nothing else. She crumpled forward clutching her ribs as several of them broke simultaneously. The weapons energy surged through her doing more damage than just the initial impact.

Jolts of energy pulsed through her, ripping and tearing her apart with each passing second. The weapon was doing something to her. She had never thought it possible but this weapon was killing her with just a simple blast.

Before she lost consciousness, Devon saw a whirl of red, white and blue amongst the chaos.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: The Avengers is property of Marvel. I do not own the characters. No money is made on this fiction.

Thank you to all those who are reading this story. Thank you for the favs and follows. Reviews are always appreciated.

* * *

Devon's head swam as she took note of how bad she felt. There was pain but that was underlying compared to the pressure. Her lungs felt like there were bands around them; each inhalation a strain to expand them. She felt like there were bricks on her limbs and body; the crushing weight preventing her from moving. It was a struggle to remain conscious let alone open her eyes.

In the distance, she could hear voices. They were familiar but incomprehensible to her. One of the voices said her name. She recognized her name. The man spoke it with such devotion it gave her something to hold onto. Gripping to the voice, she fought to open her eyes.

The blinding light sent pain through her head. She blinked repeatedly each time her eyes opened just a fraction more. She made a soft sound, which drew the attention of those in the room. The voices stopped talking and slowly a face looking down at her came into focus.

Devon tried to smile, instantly recognizing the dazzling blue eyes that she cared about so deeply. It took everything to force herself to look away, so that she could see who else was in the room. As her eyes roved around the room, she saw that Bruce and Tony were there. Then she saw the other person.

When she recognized the older man, Devon spoke without thinking, "Uncle Nick."

The endearing name came out before she could stop herself. The pain and medication they were giving her muddled and slowed her thoughts.

"Uncle Nick?" Bruce asked skeptically.

"Sorry," Devon said letting her eyes flutter closed for a moment. She was tired but needed to stay awake for a little while longer.

"They know," Nick Fury said giving her a level look.

"Yeah now they know all of it," she said trying to nod.

Devon needed to think, needed to stay awake. With each passing moment both of those were becoming harder and harder.

"Nick was my mother's best friend, and the one who saved my life," Devon explained to the others focusing on each word in her struggle. "Something I always thought was a mistake until I came to the tower." The last she said without meaning to, the words giving voice to the self-doubt that she had always felt, but now her true purpose was standing before her. They saved her life years ago so that she could do greater good.

The room was silent in the moments after her revelations. Slowly her mind wrapped around the fact that she just spoke aloud. Her eyes fluttered shut again as she struggled to breath. The machines beeped wildly, then slowed as she calmed herself.

"How bad is it?"she asked between gasps.

Bruce took a step closer to the hospital bed. "There is severe cellular degradation on a genetic level. The weapon seems to have caused random cells to break down while others are actively harming healthy cells."

Devon nodded, her eyes still closed. Her mind was struggling but still able to work with the problem at hand.

"My body is counter intuitive," she said with a frown. "My guess is every test you run fails. If you fix the problem with the cells affected by the gun then it causes problems with cells that are only functioning because of the serum."

"Yes," Bruce confirmed solemnly. He opened his mouth to give her the actual findings.

"We were hoping you might be able to shine a light on the situation," Fury said interrupting the scientist before he could ramble on an explanation.

Devon opened her eyes, she had an idea and the others here would be able to understand. "Serum," she said plainly. "Do you have any of the original serum used on me?"

"I'll have to see if we have any in cryo storage," Fury said swiftly leaving the room abruptly.

"Couldn't we just create some?" Steve asked. "They said my blood might be the key to the original formula."

"It'll take too long," Devon said. "It would have to be genetically coded for me. Whether the serum works all depends on genetics."

The men in the room all stared at her, she let her eyes close as she said, "A generic serum only works with the correct mix of Vita-Rays, which no one knows the mix. A genetic serum is a decent substitute to fill in genetic gaps, like those caused by gamma exposure. A generic serum and genetic gaps and there are problems."

Devon took a couple of slow breathes forcing herself to stay awake they needed to know the information that she had. Knowing it was a losing battle she forced her eyes open once more.

"JARVIS release code 091385-Alpha-Echo-Charlie-060381-Delta." The code she gave the AI it would deactivate her program as well as give them access to all of her files. "The data I've compiled is all on the server. Tony, you'll be able to get at them."

"We'll take care of it," Steve said taking her hand. "You need to rest."

Her lips twitched as she tried to smile at his kind gesture. Knowing he was by her side she let herself slip into the abyss.

* * *

The pain was still there as Devon came to again. She had an oxygen mask on which she slowly reached up and removed so that she could speak.

"Hi," Devon said weakly, when she saw Tony through barely open eyes. She looked around the room but Tony was the only one there now.

The man shifted uncomfortably before he eventually took a couple of steps towards the hospital bed. He had kept his distance the last time she had woken up.

"Nat drug Steve out of here a bit ago to make sure he ate something. Bruce is in the lab working through your data. I should go get them. They would want to know you're awake," Tony rambled on.

"Tony it's alright," Devon said as she tried to reach out for him but he was still out of reach. "They need to spend time away from my side. Besides I'm not alone you are here."

Her comment made the man turn away. This quiet reserve was unusual for the out spoken genius.

"Tony, what's wrong?"

He looked back at her, frowning deeply but not answering the question. After a moment of contemplation, Tony perched on the stool that was near her bedside. Silence fell over the room as her eyes fluttered with exhaustion.

"Why?" Tony asked suddenly, his voice strained.

Devon tipped her head slightly not certain what he was asking her. He did not respond or continue with his thoughts. As they sat in silence, she thought about his simple question. Her mind was moving slower than usual as the one word echoed and somewhere around the fourth or fifth repeat the question clicked.

"It was the most reasonable action," she said simply.

"Even if you knew it would kill you?"

"Especially because I knew it could kill me. Anyone else would already be dead."

"You couldn't know that," Tony said emphatically getting up and pacing by her bedside.

"The facts that I had at the time were that it was a large electrical weapon. That would have killed you instantly. If it hit Bruce, it would have killed him before he could have changed. He is vulnerable in his normal form. I'm not and I knew all that. Of all of us, I am expendable. I also knew that if possible I could be saved with the serum."

"You knew they had extra?"

"Yes my mother's notes said there was some and while working for SHEILD I found in their records they had some generic serum left and some that was classified as unknown modified. The unknown had a date stamp of when Fury injected me with the serum."

"Then you won't be surprised that Fury is on his way here with the serum," he said turning back toward her.

"Not surprised, just glad that he'll be here soon," she said letting out her breath in a rush.

It was becoming harder to breathe again. Each time she blinked, it took longer for her eyes to open again. Exhaustion was overwhelming her and through each moment, she did not know if she would wake again. She felt the oxygen mask placed back on her face and she breathed just a little easier. As her mind went dark, she held on to the image of Steve. This image was that of an old photo but also overlaid with the man she had gotten to know. The man she was in love with.

* * *

The next time Devon woke, she found herself in a different lab. Various medical devices monitored her vital signs and she had IVs in both arms. Doctors were bustling about, but most seemed too busy to notice that she had awoken.

Not wanting to interrupt she watched as Bruce made his way around the room checking figures from the machines and jotting down notes as he went. When he came to her side, he looked up from his clipboard he smiled at her and said, "Good to see you awake. We weren't sure if you would before the main event."

Devon opened her mouth but no sound came. She found it too difficult to find the words, so she just returned his smile instead.

"You think you're up for it?" the doctor asked.

She nodded her accent sending the people in the room into action. Bruce gave her hand a squeeze before stepping away to handle the machine. He looked over at the observation room, giving them a nod.

"Ready or not, here we go," Bruce said under his breath.

He flipped the lever that began the injection process, before going to the monitors to wait and see. The vials that were attached to the IVs pushed the blue liquid into her body.

As the serum entered her system Devon could feel it burn its way through her veins. Each nerve in her body lit up as the serum moved through each system. Every cell in her was on fire with electricity. She wanted to scream as her muscles pulled tight with the sudden spasms.

Her eyes darted around the room not focusing or landing on anything for more than a few seconds. After the third pass around the room, a flash of blue pulled them back. The blue belonged to a pair of eyes that watched on from the observation room. She concentrated on the blonde man's face. His eyes gave her something to latch onto, something to ground her through the pain.

Knowing he was watching made her grateful that she could not scream. Her green eyes went wide as she stared into his blue. Holding onto the sight of the other man was the only thing keeping her from losing consciousness, from giving into the pain and slipping under the rising waters.

As the last of the serum moved through her body sliding through her organs in turn, her body seized. She shook with each flutter of her heart, the created serum flooding the organ. Her last thought before her eyes shut was that she hoped that she would see those blue eyes again.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: The Avengers is property of Marvel. I do not own the characters. No money is made on this fiction.

Thank you to all those who are reading this story. Thank you for the favs and follows. Reviews are always appreciated.

* * *

The waters in Devon's mind receded slowly. A voice like honey spoke. The words made no sense but the voice was familiar and comforting. She knew the owner and although he may not have been talking to her, the voice was an anchor in the turbulent sea. Holding on to the voice as long as she could. There was heat in her hand. She squeezed her hand. Strangely, the heated chain gave and flexed around her hand. The anchor slipping through her hands as the waters rose slamming into her with the rushing currents.

Waters swirled around her for what could have been hours, days, or weeks for all she knew before the tide ebbed. The voice was distant this time but still the same connection that grounded her. Devon tried to open her eyes. Her body refused to respond, stuck to listening she tried to make out the words. The words still were odd, her brain not connecting them into anything intelligent.

Working on her eyes again, this time she managed a slit. The light blinding her for a few moments but through the light her blurry vision could make out a figure. She knew the person was the owner of the voice. She tried to latch on to it but she needed to see his eyes. He needed to turn to her so that she could see those sapphire blue eyes. The weights on her eyelids pulled them shut and slowly drug her under the surface of the rising waters.

Time passed again before the tide slipped away, leaving her in shallow water this time. Wading to the shore Devon felt the sands give way under her feet but the rushing of the waves grew quiet on the calm beach. In the distance, the voice came back to her, this time the words reaching her ears were understandable. The worry in the honeyed voice was obvious. His words called to her speaking softly drawing her up the shore.

With each step, Devon raised her eyes a fraction. The brilliance of the light washed out the beach, but as her eyes adjusted, she made out the magnificent blue eyes. Her lips twitched at the sight of Steve. She still was not really together but seeing Steve was everything she needed at that very moment. Her heart swelled at the touch of the hand that held hers. She squeezed it as a sign that she was actually there, that she was connected to him in reality and not just her subconscious.

"Hi," Steve whispered.

To Devon he looked surprised to see her awake, but there was a glint in his eyes that she thought might have been relief.

"Hey," she replied weakly.

For her the serum was not an instantaneous change. There had been a great deal of damage to her body caused by that gun. The serum had stopped it and would now slowly repair her cells to a healthy state. Already she felt better than she had before but she would be weak for some time to come.

She would take some time to review Bruce's notes on what happened to her so that she can learn the details about the gun. Maybe what they learned could help them understand her other issues. It was possible that some good would come out of all of this.

"How are you feeling?" Steve asked running his fingers through her hair.

"Better," she responded smiling slightly. Truly, she was just grateful to be alive, but it certainly did not hurt that Steve was the first one she saw when she woke up. She hoped that he could be by her side every time she awoke.

The almost dreamy look she had must have been obvious because Steve blushed slightly when he asked, "What are you thinking?"

Devon found herself giggling before she could stop herself. She raised her hands to her face in embarrassment as she blushed at her girly reaction. "Sorry," she said trying to stop the giggles, "I'm just happy."

"There's nothing to be sorry about," he said smiling back at her.

That smile was dazzling and Devon would do anything to see that smile. She loved this man. Now it seemed like they would have actually have time for a relationship. That idea made her nervous and giddy at the same time.

That idea was short lived when the door to her room slammed open with such force that it hit the wall with a clang.

"Oh, it is so good to see you awake," a man practically cooed from the doorway. The newcomer had on a medical lab coat but was missing the normal SHEILD medical identifiers, but even without that, it would have been obvious that he did not belong there by the malicious smile that adorned his face.

"Sean," Devon said in surprise as she hopped off the bed. She knew this man but it had been years since she had last seen him. Her eyes went wide as she saw the same gun that had shot her just over a week ago.

"Ah, you do remember my name. I had thought a cold heartless bitch like you might have forgotten all about me by now," he hissed out at her.

"What do you want?" Devon practically shouted, but her attempt at being strong failed when her voice waivered.

"Well I would have thought that would have been obvious, my dear," Sean said giving her a leering look.

He pulled back his lab coat and slowly caressed the electrical gun at his side, before wrapping his hand around it and pulling it free from its holster. The gun frightened her but it was the only constant in this situation. Devon had no way to know why Sean wanted her. She did not even know how he had found her.

"Hold it right there pretty boy," Sean said with a sneer as Steve tried to move towards him.

As the scientist lifted the weapon, Devon took a side step placing her body in front of Steve. While she knew that, she might not survive another shot from that gun, but she would not allow this man to hurt the one she loved.

Her hands rose in a placating manner and she took a tentative step forward, hoping her legs would hold her.

"Alright, you have me," Devon said icily. "I'll go with you but you leave everyone else out of this."

"Not that you are in any position to negotiate," he said with a wicked grin, "but seeing that I get what I came here for, I'll accept that."

When she neared him, he grasped her by the throat jabbing the gun into her back sharply. "We're going to leave," he warned with a snarl. "If you get any idea about following us or stopping us, I will shoot her. And this time you don't have any serum to save her."

The pair backed into the hall. The man stopped for just a moment to lock the door with a bloody keycard. That was when Devon noticed the dead guards in the hall.

"That won't stop him for long but it will give us a bit of a head start," he purred close to her ear. "So what's your new victim's name?"

Devon shook her head and flinched at his question. She was not about to give him any ammunition that could make this situation any crazier than it already was.

"Don't feel like talking to me." He brought his lips down to her ear, his breath ghosting over them. "It won't matter. I'll know everything soon enough," he whispered.

He guided them down the halls to the exit. When she saw the large armored truck, panic struck her as she struggled to think her way out of her current predicament. She attempted to pull away when she felt a needle go into her arm. Her world faded out as he shoved her into the truck.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: The Avengers is property of Marvel. I do not own the characters. No money is made on this fiction.

Thank you to all those who are reading this story. Thank you for the favs and follows. Reviews are always appreciated.

* * *

Devon blinked her eyes slowly. They were dry and gritty as though she had been in a sand storm. She felt foggy and the room swam around her in a blur. As her mind slowly returned to her she recognized the medical facilities in the Stark Tower. She had no recollection of how she came to be there, but she was grateful to be somewhere safe.

In the distance, she could make out voices. Slowly she looked around the room. She was surprised to find no one there with her. She would have thought that at least one of the guys would have been at her bedside, that's how it was last time.

Swinging her legs over the side of the medical bed, she eased herself to her feet. She moved stiffly as her muscles complained at the motion. Carefully she grabbed the robe that lay hooked over the end of the bed, before making her way toward the voices.

Devon leaned against the wall for support as she headed down the hallway. There was a door partially open that lead to a small break room. The voices came from the room. They were familiar and welcomed but something stalled her step from entering. She leaned against the wall listening.

"So do we know who he was?" Bruce said cautiously.

Devon knew exactly who the men were talking about. Although she could not see them, she could imagine why the scientist was being cautious. They all had questions but the others could react without thinking it through. Tony could be hot headed and Steve would want to protect her at all costs.

"I might be able to shine some light on that subject," Tony's voice said but it had little of his usual jovialness. The genius for once was all business.

As the silence drew on, Devon risked peaking around the corner. Steve who had been silent had his back to her so she could not see his face. She had no way on knowing what he was thinking. Tony also had his back to her, but she could tell that he was uncomfortable. He had his hands stuffed in his pockets, which was a rare pose for the man. He shifted uncomfortably looking between his companions. Bruce on the other hand was facing her direction but he had his glasses in one hand while pinching the bridge of his nose with the other.

Steve sighed and nodded. His shoulders were slumped like he did not want to know what Tony found but needed to know anyway. There was another beat of silence before anything was said.

"He was Devon's fiancé," Tony said.

Steve's head jerked up at that. He stared at the other man as if he was trying to tell if this was just one of Tony's jokes.

Not able to stay on her feet listening, Devon broke the silence that had settled in the wake of Tony's revelation. "I never said yes," Devon said, her voice bland and lifeless as she walked into the break room. The men startled by her sudden appearance spun around. All eyes were on her but she could not bring herself to say more.

"Is that why he attacked?" Steve asked at the same time Tony said, "No wonder he was pissed." The two comments mingled into an incomprehensible mess, which caused them to shoot angry looks at each other.

"Would you mind telling us what happened?" Bruce asked while the other two continued to glare at each other.

"I broke it off with him," she frowned.

Devon wavered for just a moment, rocking side to side as the room spun and the walls seemed to flicker in and out of being. Steve seeing this came to her side. Without pushing, he gently guided her to the couch. The cushions were hard but still she sunk into them wearily. To her surprise, the men were quiet giving her time. Putting her hands in her lap, she stared at them. She could not bring herself to look up at them.

"We wanted different things. No" she stopped herself, "that's not true. He wanted the one thing in the world I could not give him."

Devon's eyes fluttered shut blocking out the tears that threatened to spill. She could not look at the men in the room. She could not see their faces.

"He wanted a family. He wanted kids."

Gasping, Devon was back in that moment. Panic rose in her chest when she realized what was happening. It was not just a nice dinner out. Sean went down on one knee in front of her. Her head swam for just a moment and the sound of rushing blood blocked out the question. She whispered an apology before getting up and running out of the restaurant.

"I'm sorry," Devon said the words out loud echoing those in her memory. Realizing she had spoken she finally looking over at Steve. His brow rising in a silent question at her apology. "I should have told you." She shook her head as tears spilled down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry," she repeated in a whisper.

"You have nothing to be sorry about," Steve said wrapping his arm around her.

Devon curled into his arms. She had felt so hollow when Sean had attacked. However, here in Steve's embrace it was the first time she was safe. Truly safe.

"I should have told you about Sean. But there's more than that," Devon said with a sigh. She had only just gotten used to other people knowing about her secret, but this was yet another problem that came with her abilities. "I couldn't keep lying to him…" her voice tapering off.

She looked to the door wishing she could run again. This time was different though. While Sean did not chase after her, she knew that at least one of the men in the room would. If not all of them. It felt good to know she was surrounded by good people. She had a family again. This time she did not have to lie to her family. She made a silent promise that she would not start lying now.

"I've never been sick in my life," she frowned that was not going to connect the dots for the men without giving them more of the story. "Like both of you, Steve and Bruce, my body fights any foreign material. Unfortunately that means all foreign materials, including a fetus."

Dr. Banner nodded slowly, comprehending the medical science she was talking about. The other two shared the same confused frown. Devon swallowed hard unable to say the words. She could only nod when Bruce said, "Immunological tolerance."

Before the others could respond, booming laughter rang through Devon's head. The sound deafening as it continued. Devon's hands numbly went up to her ears attempting to block out the sound. She closed her eyes against the pain, but the rocking feel of floating on waves threatened to make her ill. When she dared open her eyes again, the room was gone. Steve, Bruce and Tony were gone. She was strapped down to a medical bed, with tubes pumping unknown liquids into her body.

Sean's face came into view and hovered over her head, close enough that his laughter beat against her. "So that's why you left me," he sneered. "We'll just have to see what other secrets you were keeping from me."

Devon saw a needle injected into one of the IVs before the world faded to black.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: The Avengers is property of Marvel. I do not own the characters. No money is made on this fiction.

Thank you to all those who are reading this story. Thank you for the favs and follows. Reviews are always appreciated.

***Warning: I increased the rating as of this chapter. This one got a little away from me and I'd like to put the warning out there about the continued mental torture and suggested rape. If this isn't your thing please feel free to skip this chapter.

* * *

Devon woke in her own bed. Confusion lifted as she looked around the room until she spotted a form sharing her bed but the person was huddled under the comforter. Carefully she lifted the cover revealing blonde hair sticking up in every direction.

She smiled to herself as the prior evening slowly came back to her. It was hazy but incredible all the same.

_Limbs tangled. Sweaty bodies pressed together. Moans filled the darkness._

Steve rolled a bit before he blinked sleepily.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," Devon said with a peaceful calm.

"It's all right. Besides there's never a problem waking up to you."

Devon lay back with her hands behind her head. She was completely relaxed and therefore did not expect it when Steve began tickling her sides. She laughed and thrashed trying to get the upper hand. At this moment, she was happier than she had been in a very long time.

After a few breathless moments, Steve stopped his tickle torture looking her in the eyes. His face was just inches from hers. Devon tipped her head up, kissing him lightly on the nose. Steve for his part blushed. She hoped that everything would work out for them and that even years from now this incredible man would still blush at romantic displays.

Even through the blush, Steve was looking deep into her eyes. She knew that there would be a question coming but it could be about anything.

"Did you love him? Did you love Sean?"

Devon's eyes went wide, that question actually surprised her. However even without thinking, she knew the answer.

"No," Devon said simply.

Strangely, that answer made Steve frown. She had thought the truth would be the best way to deal with this, but it seems that was not the answer that he had wanted.

"I never-" she stopped herself from the lie that would make this easier. "I cared about him, but I have always been in love with you, Steve."

The super soldier smiled at that. Even when the world thought he was dead, she had loved him. She had told him the same thing before he had ever known about Sean.

"What about your issue?" Steve asked tapping her head lightly.

"I haven't had very many relationships, but when I have it's all been about sex. Sean was no different," she said truthfully, but the blunt words sounded almost callus. "I never cared about working on my issues until I met you."

Steve made a soft humming sound as he began kissing her neck and worked his way down her body. Her body arched into his every touch and it was not long before she was moaning and calling out his name. Her arms wrapped around his neck as he kissed her passionately.

Devon closed her eyes, as the pleasure was too much for her. When he nipped at her collarbone, she gasped in surprise staring at the man on top of her. What she saw though made her blood freeze. Over Steve's shoulder, she saw Sean glaring at her.

She pinched her eyes tightly and tried not to scream. Of course, that scream came anyway when she opened her eyes again and Sean had replaced Steve while he continued to thrust into her.

Devon continued to scream as tears streaked down her cheeks. Time had no meaning while in this torture.

When Sean was done with her, he injected her again and everything went blank.

* * *

Devon looked around her apartment in the Stark Tower. It looked like it had always but the feel of it was different. There was someone there, but she did not see the person right away. Slowly she turned around but still no one was there. She tried to push the feeling of being watched down but it never went completely away.

Sighing Devon walked to her room. As the door opened, she gasped seeing who was sitting on her bed. The young woman had long blond hair and brilliant green eyes that sparkled as she smiled. She was just like Devon remembered.

"Lizzy," Devon whispered realizing why this image had not seemed right. She had to be dead if she was seeing her younger sister.

"Hey sis," Elizabeth said, her smile going even bigger. "Before you ask, no you're not dead and I don't have much time to explain."

"How?" Devon could not keep the simple question from coming out. Her mind was playing tricks on her and her heart sank as she realized why her mind was doing this. Unable to escape the vision she sank down hopelessly on the bed next to her late sister. If nothing else, she might be able to indulge for a little bit of time with Elizabeth.

"Sweetie, you and I know that I am not really here, but know this, _He_ can't see this," Elizabeth shrugged giving Devon a knowing look.

Devon's heart squeezed in her chest as she watched her sister. Somewhere in her mind, she knew that Elizabeth was right about Sean watching. That had been the difference this time, and she knew she would never see Elizabeth if this was one of his illusions.

"Dev you have to focus," Elizabeth said breaking through her thoughts. "You will be alright. I know it is hard, but it will be just a little longer. Steve's a good man and you can trust him."

Devon nodded. She had known everything that her sister had said was true. Still she needed to say something while this vision lasted.

"Liz, I'm sorry," Devon said wrapping her arms around her sister. "I should have told you everything. I always thought we had more time and that there would be a someday. I lost all my chances of that in one moment and for that I'm so very sorry."

"I know Dev," Elizabeth said hugging her back. "I love you and I understand. Now you need to go they need you."

The vision flickered and instead of being in her room with her sister, she opened her eyes and was in a dingy warehouse. Moving was near impossible as she gained consciousness. Her head swam but there were sounds that flooded over her making it hard to focus on anything in particular.

Guns rang out around her and it was almost too much to hope that the sounds meant she was being rescued. Her sister would not have given her false hope when she forced her to wake up. Then in one moment, all noise ceased. The sudden silence was a shock to her systems. Confusion settled into her mind as she tried to figure out what was happening. Her mind was not completely firing.

There was a man standing over her. He looked like Steve but she could no longer know if it was really him. Part of her wanted it to be him but this was the way each vision had began while Sean was torturing her.

Steve released her bonds quickly before lifting her up. Hot tears poured down Devon's cheeks as curled into the strong arms holding her. She closed her eyes and wondered what hell she would wake up in this time. Fear encompassed her as she slipped into the protective dark waters of the abyss.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: The Avengers is property of Marvel. I do not own the characters. No money is made on this fiction.

Thank you to all those who are reading this story. Thank you for the favs and follows. Reviews are always appreciated. Sorry for the delay and I hope to get back to more regular updates.

* * *

When Devon came to, she was not surprised to find herself in a small room. It looked like standard SHIELD medical room but this specific room was not one that she had ever been in before.

Slowly she sat up and looked around the room. When the door opened, she jumped in a panic. When Steve walked in to the room, the fear threatened to overwhelm her. As the soldier neared the bed, Devon lost the battle with her fear.

Moving swiftly Devon backed herself into the corner. As she moved, she easily flipped the bed up making a barrier between her and Steve.

Fear and panic overwrote any logical thought in Devon's mind. Huddling in the corner near a small end table, she curled in on herself as tears silently streaked down her cheeks.

Even just the knowledge of fear should have been a sign that this was the real world and not some drug induced hallucination, but that thought could not work its way to the front of Devon's mind. Steve had been used against her far more than any of the others as she repeatedly worked her way through Sean's torture.

The sounds of more people rushing into the room caused Devon to look up. A doctor and some nurses were nearing her. One attempted to move the bed that kept them back from her. The nearness of the other person spooked her into acting. She fled launching herself over the table and crashed to the ground among shards of a broken lamp. One of the larger pieces of glass cut deep into her palm as she caught herself.

The pain seemed to fuel her as the medical professionals neared her. Struggling to get to her feet she stumbled trying to gain purchase on the slick tiled floor. Her strength had returned to her and she pushed away the first nurse to reach her, sending the young woman tumbling back against the far wall.

From behind her, an orderly grabbed her shoulders trying to hold her still. She spun around wildly struggling to fight the man off. They pushed her back until she was up against a wall being held back by several people as the doctor readied an injection.

"This is just something to calm you down," the doctor reassured her.

Bile rose in her mouth at the site of the needle. She would not go to sleep again to wake up in some new kind of hell she would not let them. Devon struggled against the hold on her arms and legs as she looked around the room attempting to find a way to get free.

That was when she looked up and saw that Steve was still there watching her. He had not come any nearer to her nor had he attempted to help the medical staff. The shocked almost pained look on his face stunned her for a moment. In that instance, she felt needle prick her skin. Even before the drug was pushed into her system, she slumped down as all the fight drained out of her. Devon only remained on her feet because of the people holding her.

There was only a second where her eyes met those blue before she looked away. Devon's eyes darted at anything, everything besides the nearly statue like man watching her. Those eyes that had been her anchor not that long ago had been used against her too many times. The only thing she could hope at this point was to wake up from this nightmare even if it was to find that she was still captive by Sean.

The next time Devon awoke, her reaction was nearly the same. Confusion surrounded her when she was still in the small medical room. The furniture had been replaced or repaired. The only way she knew it was the same room was the damage to the walls. Her response when Tony had entered had been similar to her first explosive outburst.

The difference was Tony's reaction. He had made the mistake of trying to push forward and help her. Her instinct to fight caused her to practically fly at the man, smashing him into the wall. Crumbling plaster broke around him and for a moment she was not in the white room but in Tony's lab. She blinked frantically taking a step back and in a flash, she was back in the present.

Panic filled her as she tried to determine what was real. She had no way of knowing if this vision would vanish just like the others. Staring at Tony's slumped form, she allowed the doctors to subdue her with minimal fighting.

Once again, it was the same room when Devon woke up. She was beginning to question what was happening to her. Was this just a new way to torture her? Was Sean just trying to break her? As it was she did not know how much more of this craziness she could handle.

Cautiously she pushed herself up off the bed. Not knowing what to do, she stared at the door expecting someone to enter. She did not have to wait that long before Bruce's face appeared in the window of the door, but unlike the others, he did not come in. As they stared at each other through the door, her mind slowly accepted that perhaps this was real. She was actually here and not trapped within Sean's hallucinations.

Before Devon realized she had even moved she bumped into the wall with her back. She leaned against the cold surface and slid down the floor as her legs gave out. Pulling her legs up to her chest, she wrapped her arms around them and rested her head on her knees. She was too strong to break down and cry but the fear and returning panic welled up, threatening to overwhelm her.

If the last few days had been real, there would be consequences to her actions. Her mind tried to fill in the blanks of what had happened but was surprisingly unsuccessful at piecing together reality. Images flashed through her mind before it streamed away like water through a sieve. Only the image of Tony on the floor stuck out to her and she tried to hold onto the image and form a coherent thought about it.

When the door opened, Devon did not dare look up and loose the thoughts that she had built. She shook as the fear rose but held herself firmly to keep from acting on it. There were so many questions she had but one that needed to be voiced first.

"Is Tony alright?" Devon whispered before clearing her throat and trying again. "I mean I didn't … did I?"

"Tony's got a thick skull. It's going to take a lot more than getting pushed around to do any permanent damage to that man."

Devon had been surprised to hear a woman respond to her question, and risked looking up for just a moment. Although they had never met in person before, Devon knew exactly who this was from her SHIELD dossier. The woman before her was none other than the beautiful and deadly Natasha Romanoff aka The Black Widow.

The red haired woman pulled up a chair just a few feet in front of her. Natasha sat down and waited, watching Devon.

Devon knew that the other woman would notice every movement she made even down to each breath she took. She was confused by this new presence but the fog of the hallucinations seemed to dissipate with her presence. Since Natasha was not someone she knew, the spy could not be part of any ploy by Sean, which further confirmed that this was real.

Emotions flooded over her after the fear gave way. First, there was relief to be free from that prison that Sean had created in her mind. Then hatred at what he had done to her. That lead into the gut wrenching pain as her head throbbed as the memories came back to her. She scrambled frantically over to the waste bin before she emptied what little was in her stomach. The acid burned as she spat it out. Her heart ached as she finally broke and let the tears slide down her cheeks.

Devon lost track of the minutes as she cried. Time had seemed to stop but now she knew that there had been a great deal of time that she had lost during her abduction.

When she leaned back against the wall, she noticed that Natasha had not moved from where she sat. Part of Devon wished she could be alone that no one had seen her break down but another part was grateful that Natasha was there as it was a persistent reminder that this was not some vision.

"Does it ever get any easier?" Devon asked knowing that the spy would understand her question even if there were no response to it. She had read all about Agent Romanoff before she had taken on the assignment to monitor the Avengers living in Stark's tower.

"Sometimes," Natasha responded slowly as she cocked her head to the side measuring the younger woman, "but that depends on you."

"My brain just feels so scrambled right now. Maybe someday I'll be able to figure out which way is up." Devon closed her eyes as the room began to spin when she tried to remember what happened. Pushing down the nausea that accompanied those memories, she knew it was too soon to talk about that, but there was a question that she wanted to ask. "How'd I get out?"

There was just a flicker of a smile before Natasha spoke, "They called us in as soon as you were taken. By the time, we got to the tower they had worked themselves into a frenzy trying to determine how to find you. Turns out it was a good thing that you had that 'procedure' not too long ago. There was a lot of technical jargon but they thought they could track you by your radiation signature." She paused and her eyes darted to air duct before they returned to Devon. "It at least narrowed down the area to several city blocks in the factory district. From there we all broke down a lot of doors trying to find you."

"Gun shots, I remember gun shots," Devon said frowning but not concentrating on anything specific. The specifics still made her want to heave. "Did our people make it out alright?"

"There were no casualties on our end." Again her eyes darted to the vent, "Although if Clint doesn't get out of the vent soon there might be."

A small almost hysterical giggle bubbled up from Devon. She knew about Hawkeye again from the files that SHEILD had on him. She would not put it past the man to be guarding Natasha from the air vent although he would never tell her that was the reason.

It was beginning to feel normal to think that she was safe, not just waiting for the vision to break. Devon suddenly became somber again with that thought. However, there was one more question she had to ask.

"What about Sean?"

This time Natasha leaned forward and rested and hand on her arm. Devon tried not to flinch at the touch but it happened involuntarily anyway.

"Unfortunately in the confusion the man who had captured you got away. We're looking for him and we will catch him."

Devon nodded numbly. She knew these people were good at their job and would not rest until they found him, but she knew that Sean wanted her he would come back after her again and again. All she could do was be ready when that time came and this time she would be the one stopping him.


End file.
